Monday 31 July 2017

Nous sommes le lundi trente et un juillet

This is happening in the Alpes Maritime. Young men are being arrested and sent back to Italy where they were fingerprinted. This is the Dublin convention. Here this young man and others like him have been in France for some months, they are being targeted and sent back without recourse to an advocate.
In Italy they are swamped with migrants from Africa,what hope for these young men?
A guy called Cedric Herrou is doing what he can against the odds to help them. A brave guy who appreciates we are all human and some of us need help.
I look at that photo of the guy being arrested and want everyone just to listen to his painful story.
 Then consider if this was the sort of treatment we should be handing out.
I knew nothing of refugees two years ago but now feel I know enough to say to everyone, " please help them"
They have the right to an asylum interview where ever they feel safe and for some at the moment that is France.
One said to me " you stop running when you feel safe"
Please Emmanuel Macron make these young people safe.

Alarming tractors

Farmers near Rodez have had alarms fitted to their tractors in order to scare off small animals and birds which are at risk when the crops are being harvested. Particularly threatened are hares and pheasants which nest in the long grass and are apparently unable to work out that the sound of an approaching tractor cutting grass is a threat, unless it is fitted with an acoustic alarm.

Was this "humanitarian" action thought up by farmers, or the SPA? No it was the federation de chasse - after all what would hunters do if all the animals had been killed by accident.
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Sunday 30 July 2017

Good year for plums - bad for grapes

As we reported a week or so back, the trees of our garden are groaning with juicy plums and we are not alone. The departments of Lot and Tarn & Garonne produce 50% of all the plums grown commercially in France. The fine June weather with rain at just the right time has allowed the plums to ripen in time.
Melons were over-produced and were dumped or sold at a loss and frost and hail in the spring has damaged many grape vines, threatening the harvests in the Lot.
But the harvest of the delicious reine claude plums (greengages) is in full swing and our black plums will be ripe in abundance in a week. Promises a good production of prunes (pruneaux d'Agen), a major export of the area.
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Nous sommes le dimanche trente juillet.

Beautiful working oven still for sale.( St. Antonin area) SOLD

taglines82@gmail.com

Boxes to Holland

Hello Val and Malcolm

Where/how do you think I can find someone driving to Holland/Belgium who wants to take 3 cartons with books we need for a project In Brussels?
I am in Varen this week.

Gerry Herbst

06 53 495 391
Contact Gerry or Taglines with any possibilities. 

Saturday 29 July 2017

The smell of France

When we were back in the Uk for a weeks holiday out ten year old granddaughter jumped into our car and took a big sniff. She said " this is wonderful, the smell of France"
What she actually could smell was the two dogs, but to her it held happy memories and whenever she smells wet dog, she will have her happy memories of France.
She arrives Monday for a week, to be with dogs, cats, donkeys and the fun of Laguepie.
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Motocross from 11am today

The famous Laguepie Motocross Nocturne today (29th July) gets under way for the public from 11h for practice sessions. First race 17h30. Entry 10 euros. Food and drink available.

All the fun of the fair

I just love seeing the boys happy.
I was touched that the young people in Varen included the boys in the dances and many youngsters just came and shook their hands and said " bienvenue"
taglines82@gmail.com


Nous sommes le samedi vingt neuf juillet

Safely home
After a very late night last night picking up boys from the Varen disco at 2 am, we planned a leisurely "rise and shine" or rise anyway.
The dogs were going mad barking in the courtyard and Malc and I discussed " why do they do this when we are tired?"
 Then our neighbour came banging on the front door to tell us we had a donkey on the loose.
Dashing out I found Coco the young male had come home. He had even let himself into the usual field and was standing in the stable. But the others were not happy and also wanted to come home. So mid breakfast I went and put on licols and walked three home. 
Now safely here with new grass, grown in the last few weeks for them.
With a full programme ahead of us, not much time for TAG today me thinks.
taglines82@gmail.com

Friday 28 July 2017

Jazz in Marciac

The 40th Jazz in Marciac festival kicks off tonight, though headline act Norah Jones is sold out. Over the next couple of weeks performers such as Herbie Hancock, Ibrahim Malouf, George Benson and Wynton Marsalis will be playing in what must be one of Europe's top jazz festivals. With at least two concerts each day plus many other attractions it pays to book early.
Details of the Gers location and concerts may be found on the website at  http://www.jazzinmarciac.com/spectacles/jazz-in-marciac
Norah Jones at Marciac 

Nous sommes le vendredi vingt huit juillet


Thursday 27 July 2017

Flippers to St. Antonin

Hi Val
 
I wondered if anyone could lend me some flippers as I have to do a repair in the deep end of our pool and they would help keep me down.
 
Thanks 
 
John

Val says -  one of the best requests so far.

Il y a des Anglais partout, partout

I had a couple of hours to pass in St. Antonin waiting for a friend, Malc had gone to a funeral in Montauban, so I was on my own, a very unusual occurence. As it was lunch time I thought I would ask Entre Deux who on Friday lunch do fish and chips( and mushy peas!) if they could make an exception and make me fish and chips on a Thursday.
I was in heaven, I could have been in the streets at Whitby if there had been the smell of the sea and about the only French person who went past talking on her phone said in horror " il y a des anglais, partout, partout."
Many English friends went past and one said " but you surely want to eat something French" No I bloody did not, I love French food but the chance of stepping back in time and eating fish and chips with salt and  vinegar was not to be missed.
 Can you still get them in newspaper I wonder?
The pictures speak for themselves.
taglines82@gmail.com


Street opera

A young company of singers who are appearing at the Chateau de Salies, near Albi, decided to promote their productions by singing in the streets yesterday. They explain that it was not a performance, but a "publicité". Nevertheless good crowds gathered to hear and applaud the singers. If you are in Albi today you may come across them again before tonight's performance by "Opera Clandestin".
Opera Clandestin

Messing about on the river

Putting the new launching slipway at Varen to good use. About 25 of us, young men and volunteers spent a fun afternoon by and on the river swimming and canoeing. For the lads one hopes pain and suffering pushed to the back of their minds by being occupied.
Malc and I got home exhausted after a busy day starting at the dechetterie at 10 am, we certainly slept well and I hope the young men did too.
taglines82@gmail.com


Victor Hugo to close

Almost a "must do" a visit to the Victor Hugo market in Toulouse and its multi-storey car park will not be possible in August.
The market is famous for the range and quality of foodstuffs on sale every morning; the first floor restaurants are incredibly popular with local workers and there are often queues for seats just before opening at noon. The car park is well placed in the city centre, but its spaces are often narrow and tricky to access.
But its complete closure from Sunday for the whole of August will not only deprive tourists and locals (though the latter are much reduced by the holidays) of a popular visit, but stall holders and restaurants of a month's revenue.
These last few days could be worth a visit as many stalls will be having sales of fresh food.
The city council say the works are necessary to renew the "hidden" infrastructure and that afterwards it will be much improved. Other works around the square are planned up to 2019.
Indoor stall at Victor Hugo: pic DDM

Nous sommes le jeudi vingt sept juillet


Wednesday 26 July 2017

A "mad deer" killed

In the Dordogne village of Augignac several people were attacked by a chevreuil (deer), including one woman who had to be taken to hospital with wounds to her legs and back.Villagers report coming face to face with the animal, which seemed calm and even posed for photos, but as soon as they turned their back it attacked them with its horns.
The head of the local chasse got permission to shoot it out of season and after spending a morning tracking it finally managed to kill it.
He thought the reason for its behaviour could have been that it is the rutting season making it over-excited or possibly it was intoxicated after eating too much "la bourdaine" (we cannot find a translation for this - anybody know?).
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Readers reply:

Hello Val,
I think Bourdaine, also known as 'Frangula alnus' or 'Rhamnus frangula' is alder buckthorn.
All the best,
Jacynth

Dear Val,
My 'Collins Robert' dictionary translates La Bourdaine as  : - alder buckthorn.
Unfortunately I have no idea what it is or what it looks like !!
Deirdre

Thank you all; should have used our reference books not the internet! Though there are pictures on Google and apparently the bark is a laxative and can be poisonous.

Is shortage of aircraft affecting the fires?

Some maires and firefighters' unions have criticised the shortage of the Canadair aircraft in the fight against the huge fires in the south of France. They consider that 12 planes are needed, but only 9 are available, two of which are in Corsica. Pilots also claim that often the aircraft are grounded by lack of maintenance. The government has asked other EU countries to loan two extra planes to help pompiers combat the massive fires which have led to over 10000 people being evacuated from homes and campsites.
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Nous sommes le mercredi vingt six juillet

A dry morning but not as warm as it has been. Is it a day for canoeing?
It is for us, our 4 canoes are being loaded up and along with paddles and life jackets we will be on our way to Varen after lunch to have some fun on the river.
Had an interesting late night walk along the lanes last night with the dogs where I met a lovely Canadian family who were renting a house at St. Martial, a house that was sold fully furnished three weeks ago. The sellers who had the house for 19 years are now back in the UK but are still TAG readers. The renters who were now renting from the new owners were delighted with the house, pool and views.
Today at lunchtime I am passing on some of the extensive library of the sellers to Sue Glibbery from Poorpaws. She arranges a big book sale to support rehoming dogs and cancer research.
We still have books left for our own book swap.
taglines82@gmail.com

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Huge fires in south east

La Bastidonne, Vaucluse 24th July. Photo J-P Petit/AFP
Pompiers have been battling with fires in several departments in the south east as well as Corsica.
800 hectares were ravaged around the town of La Bastidonne in Vaucluse and 4 pompiers were injured in the Var. More than 200 homes were evacuated during the various emergencies and pompiers continue to try to keep the fires in check.
The fire chief in Bouches du Rhone called on all residents and tourists to adopt a more responsible attitude regarding cigarettes, barbecues, camp fires and even forestry work, all of which present risks. And of course there are always deliberate fire-setters to be deplored.
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Humanity is in your soul

SORRY THIS STORY IS IN TWICE? BOTH MALC AND I SAW IT AND WANTED TO COMMENT! 

This story was sent to me by a French friend. The government in a town near to Tarbes had bought a hotel which was going to become a centre for 80 refugees. Overnight the Mayor gave the necessary authority for some locals to build a wall across the access entry. Now the wall cannot be knocked down till it goes through the courts at a huge expense in legal fees.
Who gains from this action? 
Humanity is something you have in your soul. Humanity means you care about other people regardless of their colour and creed, we are all people. Some need more help than others. I despise people who turn their backs on others.
We are one world, one people.That Maire who affects the way his villagers think in this heartless way needs to come and talk to the Maire of Verfeil and see how " caring" works.


taglines82@gmail.com

Where did they get the masons?

Villagers in a Pyrenean commune near Tarbes decided that the decision of the prefecture to use an abandoned hotel  to house up to 80 migrants was not to their liking. So, with all the necessary permits, they rented land through which the hotel entrance was reached and closed it off by building an 18 metre long wall. Now the prefecture will need to apply for a right of passage across the land (and through the wall) in order to carry out their plan.
Not, you understand, that the villagers are opposed to migrants being re-settled, just that this is the wrong place and they think the hotel should not be closed.
The local maire has facilitated the action by approving the "permit de construire" in 24 hours. The group of villagers built the wall in one night. And we bet the refugees paid for it. (Trump take note).
Clearly those of us who have ever envisaged getting planning permission, finding a willing builder to do the work in the following six months and seeing it finished on time can only marvel at this commune's efficient mairie and artisans.
How did they do it?
They knocked it down the next day - but the publicity was hat they wanted, even if it did backfire.
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Nous sommes le mardi vingt cinq juillet

Always worth a visit to Albi to look around the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec

Monday 24 July 2017

Re: St Thomas of Canterbury

re our post below on Lagarde Viaur, Ginny Jenkins adds
Churches and other sites dedicated to St Thomas a Becket or St George are generally accepted to be as a result of the English presence here during the 100 years war. Cahuzac sur Vere also has a church dedicated to St Thomas. Puycelsi had one dedicated to St George. There is a hamlet near Septfonds called St George but someone who lives there doubts the English connection and after Brexit this may be a wise policy
If anyone else knows of a church or chapel dedicated to St George or St Thomas I’d be very interested to know as it will help me map how far inland the English or rather Gascons reached 
Ginny
reply to jenkins.ginny@gmail.com  or taglines82@gmail.com

Water filter including 6 cartridges and a ceramic jelly mould

5 euros and I could take them to the St. Antonin book swap on the 7th
SOLD
taglines82@gmail.com

Excellent swimming, good food


Swimming in the Viaur
Tucking into crepes


For many years now we and our visitors have loved going to Lagarde Viaur, close to St Andre de Najac, where the river is wide, shallow and clean, ideal for just messing about. And at hand is La Chataignerie an excellent little bar/creperie. Our youngsters love to splash about in the river then go to the bar for crepes (both savoury and sweet) and ice-cream.
 La Chataignerie is open everyday from midday to midnight (Tuesday from 18h) in July, August and September. Evenings are animated by a jazz guitar duo and entry is free, though reservations are strongly advised. Food is organic and local wherever possible. In addition to crepes and ices there is a choice of salads. There is both open air (shaded) and indoor seating. No credit cards.
Call 0565 65 63 07 or 06 27 05 34 84
As an additional attraction to the rather picturesque location, the village church is dedicated to St Thomas a Becket.
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Guarding the beaches

Locally we have seen lifeguards at the river and lake bathing places, employed by local authorities to keep watch over the enthusiastic but not always experienced bathers. But at le Bacares, near Perpignan, the local maire has the largest beach in Roussillon to keep watch over.
9 kilometres of  sand at the Mediterranean shore attract 200000 visitors per day and the mairie has recruited 22 lifeguards to patrol the beach from 9 watch posts.
The guards noticed that people still needed rescuing at lunchtime, so have been obliged to change their hours from 9-12.30 and 14.30-19h to provide a continuous cover from 11h - 19h. Outside those hours the mairie is not responsible, though, of course rescue services are available via the pompiers.
Le Barcares, Roussillon

Garden workshops at the Abbaye de Beaulieu

As well as painting ateliers for families on Thursdays
Ring or email for details, but the events are open to all .abbaye.beaulieu@monuments-nationaux.fr

Nous sommes le lundi vingt quatre juillet


Sunday 23 July 2017

Nous sommes le dimanche vingt trois juillet

Some go to the marché at St. Antonin, some go to the marché at Laguepie today.
In the summer we tend to frequent Varen marché on Saturday and Laguepie on Sunday. Today on our list is an Italian product we can buy on the cheese stall " buffalo mozzarella" from an area South of Rome. It is the "real mccoy " Basil, sweet juicy tomatoes, fresh French baguette and the mozzarella, there is our lunch.
taglines82@gmail.com

After buying we notice on the packaging the milk from the cows is from Calabria but the cheese is made in the Lombardy region.
As some one commented " a little olive oil and a smidge of balsamic
vinegar" on tomatoes and of course they are right.
We do love French cheeses and we did buy  a chunk of Cantal as well.

Froome to win Tour today

Barring a serious injury during the 14 laps of the Champs Elysee Chris Froome will be crowned winner of the Tour de France today. In yesterday's contre le montre the Sky team leader extended his lead to 54 seconds over French favourite Romain Bardet. Riding around the streets of Marseille the home crowd demonstrated their support of the home rider and booed the British cyclist. But Froome showed his superiority by almost catching Bardet at the line.
This will be Froome's third consecutive Tour victory and his fourth overall.
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Malc nearly bought plums

Yesterday in the Varen market Malc who was shopping whilst I held the dogs outside the halle ( Eldo cannot go in, in case he cocks his leg on the floor level paniers!!!) nearly bought some lovely looking plums.
He confessed quite sheepishly "I forgot in a few days we will have more plums than we can cope with". We have two laden pruniers and a small wood of prune de cochon. Must buy more sugar for jam making. Plums can be a bit like courgettes, hard to give away as everyone has them.
Conversely we have few grapes.
taglines82@gmail.com

Two of our boys

Two good reasons why Malc and I love helping our boys. 
Abubacar from Guinea, just 18 years old. He speaks French and English and is here on his own, all family left behind. He has been moved to another centre further away but in a few short weeks he has a Mama Val ( grandma) an Uncle Bertrand and a sister Esma. 
Mosab the taller boy is a graduate in IT from Sudan, his stories can make you cry, they make him cry. He is however the funniest sweetest person and will have a great life here and he will overcome.
These boys who have just met show how they care for each other and if the rest of the world only cared as much it would be a better place.
How can you help? give them love wherever you see them.... 
and Mosab who has no government money yet would not mind 10 euros for papers, tips and roll your own tobacco!! It is a crutch.
taglines82@gmail.com

If you go down in the woods...

A motorist on a country road in the Pyrenees was surprised to see a bear loping along in front of him. His passenger filmed the animal for about 16 seconds as it ran ahead of them. The park authorities reckon that the bear was known as Goiat, one of the several bears reintroduced into the mountains in recent years.
A screen print of the bear.
One group of residents who are not happy about the introduction of these predators are the local shepherds. Bears will kill the brebis, but a more serious incident happened when 209 sheep from a flock were killed when they ran off a cliff trying to escape. Experts from the agriculture department confirmed that there had indeed been a bear in pursuit, allowing the farmer to be paid compensation. Many other sheep from the flock are still missing in the countryside.
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Beautiful gardens on our doorstep

https://www.lesjardinsdequercy.fr/

Wondering where to take visitors who love beautiful gardens. These gardens are on our doorstep between Varen and Verfeil at Cambou, follow the small signs.

Saturday 22 July 2017

Free to a good pond

Hi Val

Free to a good pond!

Pontaderia Cordata (Pickeral weed) which unfortunately is too large for the small ornamental pond.

Tony   St. Antonin


Nuit des etoiles à Espinas

NUIT DES ETOILES à ESPINAS

Comme chaque année depuis plus de 15 ans, des astronomes amateurs d’Espinas et Saint Antonin vous proposent une observation des étoiles le jeudi 27 juillet (il y aura des étoiles filantes, c’est commandé !!). Horaires : si l’on veut voir l’installation et le fonctionnement des télescopes et autres appareils, venir quand il fait encore jour à partir de 21h. Pour les étoiles dans le ciel nocturne venir vers 22h. Lieu : prairie de la ferme «  la tour de Sicard », (82140 – sur la D75) au croisement des routes de Mordagne-Carrendier- Espinas. Gratuit ; "English spoken"; parking dans le champ. Pensez à apporter un lainage (24°C prévus) ou de quoi s’allonger au sol. Pour tout renseignement : siespinas@yahoo.fr ou 07.80.55.96.55 

Ateliers ouverts at Caylus


Rebecca Allen at Limogne


Nous sommes le samedi vingt deux juillet

rGood morning Val and Malcolm

My name is Martin Dear, we met briefly at the restaurant in Verfeil a couple of days ago 
My brother in law who lives in Bruniquel has a site like you that is used by kestrels to raise a brood of chicks each year.
This year three fledglings successfully left the nesting site but he found one of them ten days later with an apparent broken wing. We managed to catch her and took her to the vet who x-rayed the wing and said it was not broken but probably sprained. He was advised to keep her in confinement and feed her raw chicken until the wing repaired.
Three days on we now have her as he is away for a few days but I am not very happy about keeping her in a cat box.
Do you by any chance know of a kestrel rescue society or the equivalent of the RSPB in the local area?
I am concerned that she will get weaker and weaker and then die if she is not looked after by someone with knowledge and experience
Any help very much appreciated
Kind regards
Martin
Val says we have recommended that Martin contacts the LPO representative in Le Riols,French speaking  Regis. If anyone has any other ideas let us know. Such beautiful birds kestrels
taglines82@gmail.com
Hi Val
There is a wild animal refuge in Millau, that I used  for a young buzzard, they have local collection points.
i hope these numbers are still valid as it was some time ago I used them.
Jo x

Bad judgement at Easyjet

There have been plenty of stories of airlines overbooking recently and making a passenger get off. But to eject a 15 year old travelling alone to visit grandparents from the flight to Toulouse from Gatwick seems ridiculous.

The boy was taken from the flight and returned to Departures, from where his mother had already set off home. Eventually the young man arrived at Blagnac on a later flight, but arriving after midnight, with still a long trip by car to the grandparents' home.
The airline is suitably apologetic and has "opened an enquiry". A spokesperson said that on average they had 5 "no shows" per flight and so it does over-book. But to leave a child alone at a huge airport surely shows a complete lack of judgement. We hope young Mister Read has a good holiday regardless.
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Organic help for locals

The city council of Albi has pre-empted farm land around the city and is renting it to local maraicheurs to produce salads and vegetables using organic methods and selling them only in and around Albi. The land is rented at a very reasonable 80 euros per hectare per annum. An association promoting bio food is growing herbs which are available  free to "pick your own" consumers for personal use.
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Friday 21 July 2017

A 100 year old stove for sale, what a beauty

A 100 year old stove for sale 
I forgot the price , asking € 600,-
Riet Gerrits

Riet GERRITS <w.gerrits15@chello.nl>schreef:
Good afternoon,
I would like to advertise:  A very old ( about100 years old )stove, burns on wood or coal.
Including some old cast iron pans.
Riet Gerrits
Le Bosc
Saint Antonin Noble Val

A hint of Rio in St Antonin

This weekend St Antonin will echo to the rhythms of the samba as "Samba al Pais" comes to town. Not just Brazilian groups, but musicians from all parts of the world will be giving concerts, workshops, dance courses.
Details on line at https://sap.festik.net/

Tobacconists "en colere"

The government has proposed to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes progressively to 10 euros. Tobacconists (called buralistes) are naturally concerned that this will gradually put them out of business. Presumably the plan is to reduce smoking, but the buralistes claim this will not work as smokers will simply buy on the black market, overseas or on-line. Already over 25% of sales are made this way. To make their protest buralistes in Toulouse yesterday covered speed cameras with black bags as a symbolic  measure to deprive the government of revenue, just as the vendors will lose income.
A masked tobacconist blacks out a radar.
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Nous sommes le vendredi vingt et un juillet

Montricoux 22,23,24 July great local free feast

imagesThe association  Montricoux (ADM) has decided to reorganize a local festival for 3 days with numerous fairground attractions and three concerts free admission. These festivities will take place at the lower door and in the courtyard of the château, Musée Marcel-Lenoir.

The program:

Friday, July 21 at 7:30 pm , aperitif / concert local discovery groups followed by RBBB royal bédoune blues band

Saturday, July 22 at 3 pm friendly pétanque contest in doublette followed at 20:30 of DJOKER SHOW music disco

Sunday, July 23 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm vide grenier, 10:00 am old cars show, 3:00 pm friendly petanque contest in triplet followed at 8:00 pm with a concert with D115 .

Come and see


Thursday 20 July 2017

A few things happening in the area.

Bit steep 7 euros to pay for fireworks at Parisot per person, also we are told that it costs 3 euros to get into the Parisot lake area and that the area is no longer dog friendly.
We used to enjoy our walks around the lake with our well behaved dogs
taglines82@gmail.com



Army chief quits

The head of France's armed forces (chef d'etat majeur), Pierre de Villiers, has resigned over proposed cuts to the defence budget over the next 5 years. President Macron responded to the general's publicly expressed views by saying it was not the general's place to air his grievances in public.
With the government seeking cuts in all public spending the armed forces must bear their share, but France's military is heavily engaged overseas as well as dealing with the state of emergency here. Macron thinks it is the job of the Minister of Defence to make the case for the budget, in consultation with the generals and the treasury. A new chef has been appointed, 55 year old General Francois Lecointre, a veteran of many of French overseas missions, notably in Kosovo.
General Lecointre  in Mali 2013
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Lupins for food

Continuing Tag's harvest theme this morning, some farmers in the Tarn are experimenting with growing lupins as an animal feed crop. Some 60 hectares around Albi have been planted with lupins, which apparently have been known since before Roman times as a rich source of protein (and Omega 3, though one imagines the Romans did not know that). The Albigeois cooperative that is trying the crop also introduced flax as a crop a few years ago, giving the landscape a beautiful blue tinge.
First harvests of the lupins this week look promising and the crops will be mixed with other plants, such as flax, to provide a rich animal feed with 100% traceability.
Lupins growing near Albi

A surfeit of melons

Tarn and Garonne is the largest melon producing region in the south west and the superb weather these last couple of months has brought the crops to ripeness earlier than usual.
The problem is that many have matured at the same time and prices have dropped meaning many are being sold at a loss. The wholesale market at Moissac normally would receive 200 tons per day, but this week that figure has doubled. Some growers are dumping the crops and some are leaving them on the vine. We consumers can help by choosing from local growers when shopping as there are many cheap imports from Spain in the shops.
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Fruit trees are loaded this year

Our fruit trees are so heavily loaded with fruit, branches on the plum trees have broken in last nights storm. Apples, plums, figs, the latter two  which the birds are enjoying. Peaches, pears, a bumper crop this year. Bunches of grapes developing nicely. Makes me remember "harvest festivals" where we used to go to church and one took for others less fortunate what you had grown. As we did not grow fruit when I was young, my mother always sent us off to church with tins of fruit or peas!
Remember harvest festivals?
taglines82@gmail.com

Nous sommes le jeudi vingt juillet

A bit of plum scrumping, photo taken by Jeni McMilan
taglines82@gmail.com

Wednesday 19 July 2017

Helping the Figeac dog refuge

Hi Val. The refuge at Figeac is bursting and I wondered if you share the link below with readers in case anyone is thinking of adoption.  I met you with Rufus my adopted dog at the vide grenier earlier in the summer. Thank you Harriet

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=652019014992335&id=563586680502236

Caribbean calypso music


Grande Soirée Calypso c'est la réunion de trois groupes venus du Tarn, de l'Hérault et de la Drôme autour de la passion du Steel Drum (ou steelpan) et de sa musique colorée.

Nos répertoires variés vous feront danser et voyager, du calypso au reggae en passant par la salsa, le funk, la valse, le classique ou la pop...

Rendez vous le 20 Juillet à 20h30.

Entrée à prix libre et nécessaire (conseillé 6-8€), gratuit moins de 12ans.
Buvette et petite restauration sur place.

En extérieur dans un trés joli cadre, couvert en cas de pluie.

Lieu-dit Les Camboulasses, fléchage depuis Salvagnac (81630).
Coordonnées GPS 3.948306 1.679649

Retrouvez l'évènement sur facebook : Grande Soirée Calypso (81)

Storm alert

Meteo France has issued an orange alert for "possibly violent" storms later today. All departments of mdi-Pyrenees are involved and the alert lasts until 6am tomorrow (Thursday).
Unnecessary journeys and outdoor activities are advised against, in case of lightning strikes, flash floods, hail or falling trees etc.
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Beautiful concert, beautiful setting - tomorrow